


The Hunters

by LookOutForNargles



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-06-28 07:20:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15702498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LookOutForNargles/pseuds/LookOutForNargles
Summary: Three months ago, Stiles went missing without a trace. No matter what lead, tip, or clue the McCall pack followed, there was always a dead end waiting for them. On top of that, for the past two weeks, the pack have been dealing with a new Alpha who came to Beacon Hills and started turning people into werewolves every chance he had. They haven't been able to do anything about him and Scott was beginning to loose hope. However, when a group of four teenage hunters who call themselves "the Gladers" come and take down the Alpha in less than two days, their confrontation will change everything.





	1. Prolouge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We all lose friends.. we lose them in death, to distance and over time. But even though they may be lost, hope is not. The key is to keep them in your heart, and when the time is right, you can pick up the friendship right where you left off. Even the lost find their way home when you leave the light on."
> 
> -Amy Marie Walz

Scott McCall was reading a book in his living room when the doorbell rang. He opened the door to reveal his beta, Liam, who had his hands in his pockets, "Hey, Scott. Are Corey and Mason here yet?"

"Nah, it's just Theo, but they should be here any minute," Scott said, stepping back to let Liam in. 

Theo, having heard the doorbell ring, came downstairs from his room and smiled when he saw Liam, "Hey."

"Hi," Liam said kind of awkwardly. "So, where are we going again?"

Theo shrugged as they all went back into the living room, "Beats me. You're the one who let Mason and Corey decide."

Liam rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. After the battle with the Anuk-Ite, Liam forced Theo to confess that he had been living in his truck all semester. Though Mellissa was definitely not the president of the Theo Raken fan club, she had offered him Isaac's old room which he reluctantly agreed to. 

Although Scott wasn't sure what to expect from living under the same roof as Theo Raken, it was actually pretty okay. Theo always made his bed, kept his room clean, helped out around the house, and had even agreed to go back to school, since he had missed part of his senior year due to being, you know, dead-ish. 

"Hey, you picked last time," Liam said defensively. Theo, Liam, Mason, and Corey had been going out every once in a while, hoping to have a normal summer before going to UCLA, where they had all been accepted for the fall semester. 

"Yeah, and it was awesome," Theo smirked, loving how easy it was to annoy Liam. 

"Falling on my face every two seconds at the skate park was not awesome," Liam blushed at the embarrassing memory.

"It was for the rest of us," Theo laughed. "You'd think out of the four of us, the werewolf would be the best at sports, but even Mason was better than you."

Scott smiled fondly at the two bickering friends. Theo had come a long way, and Scott knew he felt awful about what he had done. Theo still had nightmares about his Tara taking her heart back. Scott always tried to wake him up before it got to the part where Theo tells her not to stop because he deserves it.

Scott jumped slightly as his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and went into the other room so the Sheriff wouldn't hear Liam and Theo as much. 

"Hey, Scott, have you heard from Stiles yet?" the sheriff asked.

Stiles was supposed to get back in town for the summer that day. He was planning on stopping by the station before he, Scott, Malia, and Lydia went out to catch up. The girls were supposed to show in a few hours, but Stiles should have gotten to the station by now.

"No, I thought he was supposed to meet you at the station," Scott said, cringing as he heard Liam raising his voice in the background and Theo laughing as he got worked up.

"He should have been here an hour ago," Stillinski said. Most parents wouldn't be too concerned if their 20-year-old son was only an hour late, but this was Beacon Hills. Stiles knew to call if he was going to be late.

"You want us to go look for him?" Scott asked. "I'm not doing anything and Theo and Liam are just waiting for Mason and Corey to come over, but we can ask them to help."

"Thanks, Scott," Stillinski said. "The Jeep probably just died again."

"No problem," Scott said. "Call you when I find him."

Scott hung up the phone and walked back into the other room just as Liam took a swing at Theo who simply ducked, "Okay, that's enough, guys. Call Mason and Corey. Stiles should have been back an hour ago and Stillinski wants us to see if we can find him."

"Is he okay?" Liam asked as Theo pulled his phone out.

"Yeah, the Jeep probably just broke down somewhere and his phone's probably dead," Scott said, hoping that it was true. 

Little did he know that he wouldn't see a single trace from his friend for over three months

*****

"Okay," Theo said, turning his phone off after texting Mason and Corey. "They're going to drive along the road towards the airport and see if they find anything."

"So, where are we going?" Liam asked, turning to Scott.

Scott had already thought this through, "I was thinking we might try the gas station or the auto shop?"

Theo shrugged, "I guess."

Scott drove his bike behind Theo's truck as they drove past the auto shop that was closed for the day. They were nearly halfway to the gas station when Theo pulled over. Scott got off his bike and knocked on Liam's window.

Liam rolled down the window and the two listened as Theo was talking on the phone to Corey.

"-just outside of the city limits," Corey was saying. "It's just sitting here."

"No scents or anything?"

"None that I can sense. It's got Stiles's scent inside, but nothing around. He's been here recently, though. Within the past hour. You know my senses aren't as heightened as your's though, so why don't you guys come and look around."

"Okay, we'll be there in about five minutes," Theo hung up the phone and turned to Scott and Liam. "They found his Jeep on the side of the road just outside of Beacon Hills."

Scott was getting concerned now, "And Corey can't catch his scent?"

"No, but you know your senses are better than chimeras', so let's just head over and you two can try," Theo shoved his phone into his pocket and Scott stepped away so Liam could roll the window up again. "Maybe he ran out of gas and walked to the gas station."

Scott couldn't shake the sick feeling in his stomach, especially when he realized that Mason and Corey should have passed Stiles on their way if that were true.

*****

"You're not getting anything either, are you?" Scott asked Liam as the two were circling Stiles's Jeep, trying to catch a scent that indicated where he had gone.

"Hey, guys," Scott and Liam looked over to where Theo was crouching in the overgrown grass with Corey while Mason stood nearby. "Look at this."

The two joined the others and looked to see what they had found.

Scott caught a metallic glint before he really saw what they had found. It was a set of keys on a ring that Scott immediately recognized Stiles's keychain.

"That's Stiles's, isn't it?" Liam asked.

Scott said nothing but picked up the key ring and tried to catch a scent other than Stiles's. For the first time, Scott caught the faintest whiff of another person. Their scent was almost sour, like the chemicals in the science lab at school.

"There was someone else here," Scott said.

"So what happened?"Mason wondered out loud.

"I don't know," Scott stood and faced the others. "But we're going to find out."

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” 
> 
> ― Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Story Girl

"Anything?" Stillinski asked, his voice full of hope.

"Sorry, Sheriff, it was another dead end," Scott quickly added on to that. "But Mason and Corey are looking into another lead right now. We'll find him."

"It's been over three months, Scott," Stillinski said sadly. He was giving up, Scott could tell.

"I know, but I'm not giving up. I won't stop looking until we find him," Just then, Liam started calling him. "Listen, I gotta go. I'll let you know what Mason and Corey found out."

"Okay, bye."

Scott sighed before answering the other call, "What is it, Liam?"

"Scott, we got a problem," Scott immediately perked up at Liam's urgent tone. "A group of hunters came into Beacon Hills today. They killed the Omegas."

"All of them? There was over a dozen," Scott asked, surprised.

A feral alpha had come into Beacon Hills a couple of weeks ago and had been turning people into werewolves left and right. It was mostly joggers in the Preserve or whatever dumb teenage couple ran off into the woods to make out. The Alpha was more animal than human. He didn't turn people for a pack. If so, he wouldn't have bitten some twelve-year-old boy whose body they had found last week. He was doing it for sport. The Omegas were just a bonus to his fun. Like how people who hunt wild game just so happen to get a few meals out of whatever poor animal they had been hunting.

The people he turned typically hid out in the woods, occasionally wandering into town, unless the alpha called them, so they had started calling them the Omegas. They hadn't been able to catch any of them. Thank goodness there hadn't been a full moon since they had been turned. That many new werewolves in one place would have been a massacre.

"We found 'em all in a clearing together in the Preserve. We brought a couple of bodies to Argent to see what he knew."

"Where are you now?" Scott asked, grabbing the keys to his bike.

"The animal clinic," Liam replied.

"I'll be right there."

*****

Scott rushed into the animal clinic to see Argent, Derek, Liam, Corey, Mason, Theo, Malia, and Lydia crowded around two bodies on exam tables, "Anything?"

"See these marks," Argent pointed to the bodies, two young men, probably only twenty. "There were four different weapons used: a crossbow, a blade of some kind, a gun, and a spear."

"So, four hunters, at least?" Scott asked.

Argent nodded. He crossed his arms and leaned back, staring at the bodies, "I think. . . I may know who it is."

When Argent said nothing more, Scott pressed him, "Who?"

"I've heard rumors," Argent started. "About an old group of hunters, a company, really, called WICKED. I don't know what it stands for, no one does. And no one's heard anything from them for years According to my sources, they had one more training facility that no one knew about, and for good reason. They did awful things there."

"What kind of things?" Malia asked.

"They kidnapped kids, mostly teenagers who had been affected by the supernatural. They wiped their memories and trained them to be hunters. A couple of weeks ago, a few managed to break out and take down the last of the people who worked there. All of them got their memories back and went home to their old lives, except for the four leaders of the group. Three boys and a girl who call themselves the Gladers, which is supposedly in memory of the ones who didn't make it."

The others glanced at each other before Mason spoke up, "What do you mean, 'the ones who didn't make it'?"

"Their training program was long and harsh. Not all of the kids made it. Most of them didn't make it. They originally kidnapped two hundred and only twenty made it out alive."

A deafening silence filled the room before Theo spoke up, "They really live up to their name, huh?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Malia answered. "I mean, the number one rule of naming anything is making sure it has a good acronym."

"So what do we do now?" Liam asked.

"We need to figure out what we're up against," Malia said. "We need to see what they're capable of.

"I have an idea," Derek spoke, for the first time that night. "I found the alpha's hideout earlier. He's got this cave on the edge of the Preserve. It's barely within the county limits. Based on how fast the Gladers have taken out the Omegas, they'll be going after the Alpha pretty soon."

"As in tonight," Scott realized what he was suggesting. "So we go to the Alpha's cave and wait until the Gladers come. We watch and see if they're dangerous."

"Not to be a downer, here, but what do you think they're going to do when they find a pack watching them from the shadows? Have a nice little chit-chat about this weather we've been having?" Theo asked, sarcastically.

"I'll go," Corey said, causing everyone to look at him. "They won't be able to see me and the rest of you just hang around nearby. "

"No," Scott said immediately and Mason looked very happy with his reaction. "You're not going alone. They've taken out all the Omegas in less than a day and we don't even know what they're capable of. If they find you spying, they might kill you on the spot. Plus, the Alpha will know you're there."

"Just stay close by and listen to see if I need you," Corey countered. "The Alpha won't care about me when he's got four hunters to deal with. I have to be touching someone for them to be invisible and more than just me could be even more dangerous than me alone."

Scott was about to argue some more, but Argent cut him off, "That's the best plan we have. Let me give you a gun, just in case."

"Corey," Mason said to his boyfriend who gave him a please-don't-argue-with-me kind of look. "Just. . . be careful. Please."

Corey smiled at took Mason's hand in his own, "Always."

"If you guys are gonna start making out, could you at least get a room?"

"Malia!" Lydia elbowed her side softly.

"What? We were all thinking it."

*****

Scott approached a very nervous Mason while Corey was getting a quick gun safety lesson from Argent, "Hey, Mason."

Mason stopped nervously chewing his nails to look at Scott, "Yeah?"

"Did you guys find anything about Stiles?" He asked.

"Sorry, Scott," Mason said, frowning sadly. "It was another dead end. The guy we were looking into has only taken people from this one college in New Mexico. We were planning on calling the cops there to tell them about-"

But Scott had stopped listening when Mason had started off with saying. "sorry".

I was reading this book again after uploading the prologue and realized this was very cringey and bad, so I'm going to be doing some editing for a bit. I'll post in an author's note when I'm done.

 


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "People change and forget to tell each other."
> 
> -Lillian Hellman

An hour later, they were all waiting in a clearing in the Preserve waiting for whatever was about to happen. Corey had gone invisible after giving Mason a quick kiss and they had all watched the leaves shuffle as he walked away.

Those with superhuman hearing listened as he climbed a tree and settled down in its branches, all of them tensing when he slipped and cursed under his breath.

"Sorry," they heard him whisper. "I almost stepped on a squirrel."

Scott caught sight of Theo rolling his eyes fondly with the ghost of a smile gracing his features. As for everyone else, Mason was pacing while Liam watched, eventually grabbing his friend's arm and making him stop. Argent was checking his many guns and weapons and Scott made a mental note that he had found a new hiding place for a switchblade. 

Lydia looked bored, checking her hair while Malia and Derek aided Scott and Theo in keeping an ear out for the Gladers. Scott was starting to think the Gladers weren't going to show that night when he picked up the sound of someone whispering.

"Minho, stop walking so close behind me," a girl said. Scott saw the others perk up at the sound while Argent, Lydia, and Mason froze in case they or the Gladers heard something. They were pretty close to the Alpha's cave in case Corey needed them.

"Then tell Thomas to stop walking so close behind me," another voice, presumably Minho whispered back.

"Knock it off, you two," a voice that sounded British whispered in an annoyed tone. "We're almost there."

The Gladers were right next to the tree where Corey was hiding, right outside of the Alpha's cave, when a deep growl echoed from the depths of the cave. 

"Be quiet," the girl said, the friendly, joking tone gone from her voice. 

The Gladers were silent for a few moments before a loud roar sounded and someone, it sounded like Minho, yelled, "Now!"

There was the sound of a large. . . something barreling out of the cave and a gunshot rang throughout the Preserve at the same time an arrow sliced through the air. The Alpha roared angrily and fought back. 

The sounds of battle were so loud, even Argent, Lydia, and Mason could hear parts of it. At some point, there was a yell of surprise moments before something hit a tree and the girl shouted, "Newt!"

"Thomas," Minho yelled as the battle raged on. "There's a cliff over that way a bit. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?'"

Scott assumed Thomas nodded in agreement or something because he heard the sound of two of the Gladers running off into the forest, followed by the Alpha. Another Glader hurried to the base of Corey's tree where he heard another heartbeat.

"Newt? The girl asked, concerned. "You okay?"

Newt groaned and the leaves crunched, sounding like he was rolling over, "I'm fine."

"You're arm's bleeding," Teresa said, opening a box. "Let me see."

"Ugh, that was embarrassing," Newt huffed. "That was such an easy dodge-hey!"

"Well, do you want it to get infected?" Teresa asked, apparently cleaning his arm. "Just shut up an-"

She cut herself off.

"Teresa?" Newt asked. "What's wrong?"

Teresa was silent for a minute before answering, "I thought I heard something."

Scott and the others got ready in case that something was Corey. The two were quiet for a moment. Scott had to admit, she was good. Not even he had heard anything from Corey. 

But then he heard it. The sound of several somethings barreling through the trees. A few seconds later, the Gladers could hear it, too.

"Get down!" Teresa yelled, and Scott could hear her firing an arrow towards the sounds right as the first one broke through into the clearing.

"He's turned more!" He heard Newt exclaim as Teresa let another arrow fly. "Where's my-"

There was a grunt as Newt was cut off and Teresa shouted his name again, with no response this time. She shot one last arrow before a beacon, similar to Argent's, was activated and she led the Omegas away from the clearing.

Scott waited a few moments before whispering, "Corey, what's going on?"

"Three of them led the Alpha and the Omegas off towards the cliff. The fourth one got knocked out by the Omegas."

"Come on," Scott said and led the way towards the clearing. As they came into the clearing, Corey jumped down out of the tree beside Newt. He was young, definitely not older than any of them. He was tall and lanky with reddish-blonde hair. 

There was a machete laying off to the side along with a couple of backpacks filled with water bottles, granola bars, and a few clothes. There was also an open first aid kit next to Newt where Teresa had been cleaning the long cut on his arm. 

"So. . . what now?" Mason asked.

Scott hadn't really thought this far ahead. The plan was to see if the Gladers were dangerous, but they really hadn't learned much. 

"We could take him back to my place," Derek suggested. "Talk to him about what they're doing in Beacon Hills."

"I fully endorse that plan," Malia said. Scott gave her a look. "What?"

"We can't just kidnap him," Scott reasoned. "The others will be back any minute."

"I think they're a little preoccupied," Lydia said. "Besides, we're not kidnapping. We're not going to hold him against his will, or anything. We just want to talk."

*****

And so that's how they ended up at Derek's loft twenty minutes later with a random teenage boy handcuffed to a pole on a support beam having his wound treated by Lydia and Argent.

"I didn't expect them to be so young," Scott muttered to Malia as they sat on the couch, watching Argent and Lydia finish cleaning and bandaging the boy's arm.

"You heard what Argent said," Malia whispered back. "The youngest was twelve."

"I know, but I thought that they might have grown up by now. He can't be any older than us."

Argent and Lydia finished bandaging Newt's arm and put away the first aid things. Scott was about to talk to Corey about what he had seen during the fight when, suddenly, the room was filled with a bright light. 

Scott brought his hands up to his eyes and squinted as his vision was impaired for a few seconds.

"Flash bombs," Argent said.

"The Gladers," Derek called out.

"Why didn't the alarm go off?" Liam asked.

"They must have come in through the balcony."

Scott blinked the last of the white spots out of his vision and saw two figures standing in front of Newt, creating a small, protective wall. Teresa was aiming a crossbow at them and an Asian boy, who he assumed was Minho, was holding a spear threateningly. Before he had time to wonder where the last Glader was, he heard a small gasp from Corey, who was standing near the back of the group.

They turned around and saw the last Glader, Thomas, had pulled Corey away from the group and was holding a gun to his head. Corey, who was arguably the jumpiest one of the pack, didn't look scared, however. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as confusion radiated off him.

"Let him go," Thomas said, his voice dripping with hatred, and Scott felt his breath hitch in his throat as he looked a little closer at the hunter's face.

"S-Stiles?"


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Seeing people change isn't what hurts. What hurts is remembering who they used to be."
> 
> -Unknown

"I said, let him go," Stiles practically growled as he pressed the gun directly against Corey's temple.

Scott felt sick to his stomach, "Stiles what are you doing?"

"What the shuck is a stiles?" he asked, and Lydia let out a small noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "Listen, we don't want any trouble. Just let him go and we'll get out of here."

"No!" Scott took a tentative step forward. "Stiles, I'm not letting you leave again. We've been looking for you for three months."

Stiles lowered the gun a little and shot a quick glance at Minho and Teresa. "Are you saying I was friends with werewolves?"

"I mean, only three of us are actual were-"

"Liam, shut up," Derek growled.

Stiles clicked the bullet into place and pressed it against Corey's head again, "Let him go. Then we'll talk."

Scott listened to the steady beat of Stiles' heart. He meant it. He would kill Corey if they didn't let Newt go. With a hard swallow, Scott locked eyes with Argent and nodded, "Let him go."

Argent pulled out the keys and unlocked the handcuff around Newt's uninjured arm before backing away with his hands up as Teresa held her crossbow to his neck.

"Minho, check on him," Stiles nodded at his friend, who lowered his spear reluctantly. 

"Actually, I've been awake for the past fifteen minutes," came a cool, British voice as Newt got to his feet with a smirk.

"You shuckface," Stiles said with a smile. He lowered the gun and quickly crossed over to his friends and pulled Newt into a one-armed hug before Minho and Teresa repeated the gesture.

Scott felt tears prickle at the corners of his eyes. He was vaguely aware of Mason pulling Corey into a tight hug. Scott couldn't believe Stiles would threaten to kill anyone, let alone someone in their pack.

"Glad they didn't kill you, ya shank," Minho said with a smirk.

"You ain't getting rid of me that easily."

The Gladers then turned to the pack, shoulder to shoulder. The anger in their eyes replaced with newfound curiosity.

"If only three of you are werewolves, what are the rest of you?" Stiles asked.

No one said anything. A few were simply hurt that Stiles even had to ask that question, and the others were looking to Scott to tell them how much they needed to say.

"Don't all speak up at once, now," Newt said sarcastically.

Scott turned to the others, "Tell them. We need to trust each other.

"Banshee," Lydia said softly, then with more confidence. "I'm a banshee."

He may have been imagining it, but Scott thought he saw Teresa's eyes harden at that statement and Newt stepped ever so slightly closer to her, almost protectively.

"Werecoyote," Malia said simply.

"Corey and I are chimeras," Theo was leaning up against a support beam behind the Gladers, who turned around to look at him.

"Chimeras?" Newt asked, confused. "The lion, goat, snake, hybrid from Greek mythology?"

"It's also the word for a creature made up of incongruous parts. Or a person with more than one set of DNA. It's what we call someone made supernatural by the Dread Doctors because they have the DNA of two different creatures," Scott said and the Gladers turned back around.

"Theo," Derek looked at Theo. "Stop brooding in the corner and join the rest of us. That's my job."

"Come on Derek," Theo said as he crossed the room to sit on the arm of the couch. "Brooding's one of the only things I'm good at, don't take it away from me."

"Can we put him in the ground, again?" Liam asked, annoyed.

"You broke the sword, remember?" Theo smirked.

"I don't need a sword to slit your throat."

"Good luck with that, Liam," Theo smiled.

"Wait, the Dread Doctors?" Minho suddenly asked. "You mean that piece of klunk book Newt picked up at a drugstore? They're real?"

"Yes, and that is a long story that we don't have the time for," Malia said.

"What about you?" Teresa asked Argent and Derek who were sitting on either end of a table.

"Just a werewolf," Derek said.

"I'm a hunter," Argent said. "But I live by a code."

"So do we," Stiles immediately said. "We kill those who hurt innocent people."

"Scott's eyes narrowed in surprise as the rest of the Gladers nodded in agreement, "Stiles, what happened to you?"

"I watched my friend go crazy and kill a thirteen-year-old kid," Stiles said with his jaw set, shaking slightly. "We ran from a crazy guy who wanted to use us for his sick science experiment. I watched one of my best friends go crazy and begging for me to kill him before trying to kill me."

"Tommy," Newt said. "Calm down."

"I almost did it, Newt," Stiles said angrily, turning towards him. "I almost killed you. If Brenda hadn't pulled us out of the simulation in time-"

"But you're here now," Scott intercepted. "Just wait until we tell the sheriff."

"What? No!" Stiles exclaimed. "You can't tell the police we're here."

That was what told Scott just how bad this memory loss really was. "Stiles. The sheriff is your dad."

Stiles blinked, "My-my dad?"

"Yes, and he's been going out of his mind since you went missing," Lydia stepped up next to Scott.

"You don't have to stay in Beacon Hills," Scott said. "But you at least have to see him."

Stiles stared at him, "How do I know I can trust you? How do I know this isn't just another trick from WICKED?"

Scott smiled in spite of himself, "You don't. I know how hard it is for you to trust people, Stiles, but I also know you're smart. You have good instincts. So, tell me. Do you think we're lying?"

Stiles looked at him for a moment, "No. But I'm not risking everything on a hunch."

Scott pulled out his phone and scrolled back to the very first picture he ever took. It was of him and Stiles, back when he had long hair and Stiles's was short. He turned the phone around and showed it to Stiles. 

He took the phone and stared at it while Newt and Teresa looked over his shoulder.

"No signs of photoshop, as far as I can tell," Newt said.

"You were cute back then," Teresa smiled at him.

Stiles handed the phone back, "That doesn't prove much."

"Okay," Scott put his phone away. "What do you want me to do? How can I prove that you knew us?"

After a moment, Stiles asked, "You talked about my dad a little. What about my mom?"

Scott bit his lip, "I'm sorry, Stiles. She died over twelve years ago."

"How?" Stiles asked, not phased in the slightest. "How did she die?"

"Frontotemporal dementia," Scott said sadly. "I'm really sorry, she loved you a lot and-"

"I believe you," Stiles cut him off.

"You-why?" Scott asked.

Stiles shrugged, "Because I know WICKED. They would have made it seem like I have a perfect life so it would hurt more when they took it all away."

Scott felt really guilty for being glad that Stiles' mom had died, "Does that mean you'll come with us?"

He shook his head, "No. Not yet. But we'll be in touch. We'll find a place to stay the night and go from there."

"No way," Malia stepped forward, but Scott grabbed her arm. "Come on, we can take them."

"No, Malia. Let them go," Scott said. "There's a pretty nice motel on Parkway Avenue."

They nodded in thanks and started towards the door. As they were, Scott noticed that Newt was limping heavily, "Hey, Newt?"

The Gladers half turned around before Scott gestured to his leg, "You're limping. Are you alright?"

"It's a. . . it's an old injury," he said. Stiles squeezed Newt's shoulder and Scott was still staring at the door long after they had left.

the door long after they had left.

"Do you think we should have let them leave?" Lydia asked, unsure of herself.

"Yes," Scott said certainly. "We need them to trust us. It's the only way we'll get Stiles back."

**So, I had this chapter almost finished in terms of editing, but my computer decided to be stupid and delete everything so I had to start over. It may be better than I had it before, it might be worse, who knows. Just know that it's here, and in case anyone has decided to come back and reread this book for whatever reason, I'm currently in the process of editing, so that's why there are only the first four parts.**

 


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.” 
> 
> ― Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

It had been two days since they had "found" Stiles, and Scott was getting worried that they had decided to leave without telling anyone. He was considering heading to the motel he had recommended and see if they were there when there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Are you expecting anyone?" Lydia asked.  
  
"No," Scott shook his head as he answered the door. "Hey, Liam, what's up?"  
  
Liam said nothing, but wordlessly handed Scott his phone where a text message was open.  
  
 _Unknown Number:_  
  
 _This is Teresa. We'll meet you guys at Beacon Hills High School tomorrow at noon. Just the people we've already met. If anyone new comes, we're leaving and you'll never hear from us again._  
  
"Good thing we haven't told the sheriff, yet," Lydia said, reading over Scott's shoulder.   
  
"How did they even get your number?" Scott asked, handing Liam the phone back.   
  
"I don't know," Liam shrugged. "Maybe they hacked into the school records?"  
  
"What do you think they want to talk about?" Lydia asked.  
  
"I don't know," Scott said. "But I hope they want to get their memories back."  
  
"Wouldn't they have done that already if they could?" Liam pointed out.  
  
"Not necessarily," Lydia said. "We don't know what they've been through. Maybe they were too scared to remember in case they didn't want to."  
  
"The only thing I care about is making sure they don't leave," Scott said. "We're lucky they ended up here by chance. I don't think we'll get lucky again."  
  
*****  
  
Scott paced in front of the school, waiting for the others to show. He knew he was early, but he couldn't sit still at his house. He heard the sound of a car approaching and looked up as Lydia's car pulled up, followed by Derek's.  
  
The others got out and Scott nodded at Lydia, "Let's go get Stiles back."  
  
The hallways were eerily silent, the only sound being their own footsteps. Scott wasn't really sure what they were looking for, so they just wandered, trying to catch a scent. Eventually, they ended up outside where the lunch tables were.  
  
"What are we even looking for?" Malia asked.  
  
Scott was about to answer when he suddenly found himself catching an arrow that was coming straight for him, "What the?"  
  
"Nice catch," they all turned around to see Minho coming out from nowhere, his spear hanging loosely in his right hand.  
  
"Yeah," Teresa walked towards them from the front, lowering her crossbow. "I like you guys. Wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot."  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't be shooting arrows, at us, then," Malia growled.  
  
Teresa just smirked as Newt appeared on their left, leaning against one of the concrete pillars, his machete sheathed on his back, "We've heard a lot about your pack. Figured you could handle one of Tess's arrows."  
  
"I told you to stop calling me that," Teresa narrowed her eyes at Newt who just shrugged with a faint smile.  
  
"How?" Scott asked, wondering how they had heard of them if they had only escaped from WICKED a few weeks ago and had been on the road ever since. "How do you know about us?"  
  
"Word travels fast if you know the right people," Stiles said from their right, copying Newt's stance. He had two pistols at his hips and a larger gun strapped to his back.   
  
Scott hadn't realized it before, but he could see now that they were surrounded. The weapons were away but could be out and ready in less than a second.  
  
"What do you want?" Derek asked.  
  
"I told you we would be in touch," Stiles said. "I'm nothing if not a man of my word. Besides, we always meet with the packs in the area."  
  
"Can we ask you something?" Scott asked.  
  
Stiles shrugged, "Go for it."  
  
"Why didn't you get your memories back?" Scott asked, hesitantly.  
  
Stile's blank expression turned into a ghost of sadness, "It's not that we don't want to remember. Trust me, I want to have a normal life. But we've had too many doctors messing with our heads. I wasn't about to let them mess with me more. Besides, a lot of our friends died for WICKED's 'training'. I felt like the best way to honor them was to make sure all that wasn't for nothing, and I knew I wouldn't be able to be a hunter knowing about my past."  
  
"Is that what they'd want?" Lydia said softly. "Would they want you to be living this life? Hopping from place to place, killing people, letting your families believe you're gone? I somehow don't think they'd want that."  
  
A moment of silence.  
  
"Believe me," Newt said, his voice carrying way too much pain and heartache for someone his age. "I know that they wouldn't want that. They'd want us to go back home, just like they wanted to do themselves. They're not the real reason, Tommy just says that to make himself feel better."  
  
"Hey-" Stiles interrupted.  
  
"Slim it, don't even try to tell me you think Chuck wanted this life for you," Newt practically glared at Stiles, who shrunk back like a scolded child. "We've had too many scientists poking at us like lab rats. The only people who would do the operation to get our memories were the doctors who used to work for WICKED. They said they had been looking for a way out for years, but we weren't about to let them cut us open. Not again."  
  
Scott suddenly got an idea, "What if we told you we know a doctor who would do the operation, no questions asked?"  
  
"I'm not going back to a hospital," Stiles said firmly. "I'm not going into an operating room."  
  
"He doesn't work at a hospital," Liam smiled, catching on to Scott's plan.  
  
*****  
  
"So, what do you think?" Scott asked Deaton who had been eerily calm the entire time. He had brought the Gladers to the animal clinic along with Lydia, Malia, Liam, and Derek. Theo and Corey were going to the Sheriff's station to talk to Stilinski, and Mason and Argent both had business to take care of. Teresa had explained the surprisingly simple procedure to get their memories back.  
  
"I can walk you through it," Teresa said. "I know how, but my hands shake too much for me to do it myself."  
  
"I can certainly try," Deaton said. "But I have to say, I believe you're overestimating my abilities, Scott. I can't promise a flawless operation on the first try."  
  
"I don't care," Minho said, his arms crossed. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I just want this thing out of my body. WICKED's controlled my life for too long and I want to get all of their tech out of me."  
  
"I agree," Teresa chimed in. "I've been running from my past for too long. We all have. It's time we know the truth."  
  
"Good that," Newt agreed. "Tommy?"  
  
Stiles looked up from where was glaring a hole in the floor to Deaton, "We knew each other before?"  
  
"Very well, Stiles," Deaton answered. "I like to think you considered me a very close friend."  
  
"Then I'll do it," Stiles said. "You guys are right, it's time we stopped running from our pasts, and it's time we stop letting WICKED control our lives. I'm ready to accept whatever my life used to be."  
  
Scott could see that they had all been having doubts for a while now. Whether it was wanting to get rid of WICKED, once and for all, or just being tired of running, figuratively and literally, they all wanted to do this.  
  
"Let's get started then," Deaton said.  
  
He got to work gathering a few supplies, setting a tray laden with cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, a scalpel, tweezers, gauze, and some adhesive bandages on the table, "Are you sure you don't want any anesthetic? It shouldn't be too bad, but it won't exactly be comfortable."  
  
"We can handle it," Minho said, puffing his chest out a little."

"Hey, Minho," Newt started with a smirk. "Remember that time in Nashville when-"

"We agreed to never speak of that day again," Minho crosses his arms and glared at his friend.

The other three Gladers exchanged looks and sniggered and Scott frowned. This wasn't just Stiles, his best friend since preschool. This was four teenagers. Four children who were forced into this crazy situation no one should have to be in. It wasn't a crazy alpha, or anything else supernatural. They were kidnapped by scientists, people who were completely average and that made it worse than the supernatural.

  
Scott was snapped out of his thoughts by Stiles reluctantly climbing onto the table and laying down on his stomach, using his arms as a pillow. Scott was surprised since Stiles had seemed like the most reluctant to do the operation, and he couldn't help asking, "You're going first?"

"Even though Teresa is giving this guy directions, I still want to go first so that you get it figured out before you do the others. No offense, doc."

"None taken," Deaton said, pulling on a pair of gloves and wiping the back of Stiles's neck with some rubbing alcohol. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, just get it done.

Teresa uncapped the marker and drew a short line on the back of Liam's neck so that Deaton would know where to make the incision on Stiles. Even from the simple task, Scott could see her hand shaking. He wondered how she kept her hands steady enough to shoot her crossbow.

"Okay, but just deep enough to break through the skin," Teresa said. Deaton followed her instructions and Scott saw Stiles tense up as he made the cut. Deaton wiped away the blood that had pooled around the cut and took up the tweezers.

"There's a little chip just underneath the skin. It's right next to a nerve, so be careful."

Deaton stuck the tweezers in carefully, a look of deep concentration on his face, "I've got it."

"Pull it out slowly."

Deaton slowly pulled the tweezers out of Stiles's neck and brought out a small, green chip. The symbol on it was small, but Scott could see it clearly. The word "WICKED" in white capital letters. Deaton set the chip aside and wiped away some more blood before putting an adhesive bandage over the incision.

"That's it," Teresa said, noticing their hopeful looks, she added, "It takes a couple of hours for memories to start coming back, though."

"That's plenty of time to do the rest of you, then," Deaton said as he began cleaning up.

Stiles got off the table and Minho took his place. Newt was next and, finally, Teresa. It had taken about an hour to remove all the chips. There were a few attempts at conversation, but they ultimately ended up sitting in silence before Scott's phone started ringing. He glanced at the caller ID before answering.

"Hey, Theo, how'd it go with the Sheriff?"

"That's actually a funny story," Theo said. "You see, we said a lot of things, he said a lot of things, and-"

"He punched Theo in the face when he tried to keep him from leaving and he's heading there now," Corey cut him off.

"I was getting there," Theo said, his voice a little muffled.

"I got you there before the turn of the century."

Scott sighed, he had been hoping their memories would be back before bringing the Sheriff into this, "Okay. When do you think he'll be here?"

"Stiles!" the door to the animal clinic burst open and the Sheriff suddenly appeared in the doorway with Theo and Corey right behind him.

"About now," Theo said unnecessarily into his phone before hanging up.

"Stiles," Stilinski rushed forward and pulled Stiles into a hug, tears streaming down his face. "Where have you been?"

"Dad?" Stiles said uncertainty. "I um-I"

"You know what? Iit doesn't matter, you're here now. And you're safe."

Stilinski pulled away and Stiles looked around at them all before his eyes settled on one, "Scott?"

Scott barely allowed himself to be hopeful, "Stiles? Do you remember anything?"

  
"Yeah. . . I remember," Stiles looked down at the ground like he was trying to process something. He looked up at the rest of the pack and blinked in recognition. "I remember everything."


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face—I know it’s an impossibility, but I cannot help myself."
> 
> —Nicholas Sparks

They had decided to go to Scott’s house because the crowd in the Animal Clinic was getting a little suffocating. On the way, Minho started remembering.

Continuing the conversation from the car, Newt entered the house talking, “You’re kidding right? There is no way you were a teacher’s pet.”

“I’m telling you, man,” Minho was right behind Newt, “All of my teachers loved me. Except for my fifth grade math teacher. But, it turned out he did drugs and was an alcoholic.”

“No way,” Newt shook his head. “I refuse to let go of this mental image of you being that one kid who always makes sarcastic comments when-“

Newt never finished that sentence, though. He just sort of stopped in the middle of the room, looking off into the distance.

“Newt?” Stiles sounded concerned. “Hey, Newt. You okay? Did you remember something?”

Newt blinked rapidly a few times and focused on Stiles’s face that was masked with concern, “Tommy, what happened to. . . Sonya?”

“Sonya?” Stiles’s concern was replaced with confusion. Scott was just as confused. He didn’t know anyone named Sonya. He figured it must be one of the other teenagers who had escaped WICKED.

“Yeah, Sonya. What happened to her?” Newt’s voice sounded urgent. Was Sonya his girlfriend, maybe?

“Uh, she, Harriet, and Aris were the last ones to get their memories back. We left before they had the operation. Newt, What’s wrong? Why do you need to find Sonya?”

“Where is she? Did she go back to England?”

“What do you mean, ‘back’? Newt, what are you talking about? Why do you need to find Sonya?” Stiles put a comforting hand on Newt’s shoulder.

“Because she’s my sister!” Newt blurted out.

“Your sister?” Stiles repeated, though it sounded more like a question.

Newt ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the couch. The other three joined him as he stared off into space, thinking about something. Scott, Malia, Lydia, Liam, and Sheriff Stilinski found seats and everyone was silent for a few moments. The Gladers were shooting each other concerned looks.

Newt suddenly stood up, pulled his phone out, and started dialing a number.

“Newt,” Stiles stood up next to Newt. “What’re you doing?”

“I remember my mum’s phone number,” Newt said as he dialed. “I’m just hoping she hasn’t changed it.”

“Woah, dude,” Minho stood up as well. “Is that the best idea? You’ve been gone for, what? Two or three years?”

That hit Scott right in his heart. Three months without Stiles was hard enough, but three _years_? Newt had friends and family, too. People who had searched for him and, most likely, given up when they found nothing, suspecting the worst. Not to mention that his sister was apparently taken, as well.

“I don’t care,” Newt’s response pulled Scott out of his thoughts. He pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear. Despite Scott knowing that this should be a private conversation, he decided he should listen in, just in case. And, judging by the looks on their faces, Liam and Malia were doing the same.

Whoever was on the other line let the phone ring a few times before answering.

“Hello?” it was a woman’s voice. She had the same accent as Newt. “Who is this?”

“Mum?” Newt practically whispered. “I-it’s me.”

“Isaac? Oh gosh, is it really you?” So Newt’s real name is Isaac.

“Yeah, it’s really me.”

“Who is it, hon?” someone called from another room on the other line.

“George!” the woman, Newt’s mother, yelled, putting the phone down for a moment. “Come in here!”

“Isaac, sweetheart, I’m putting you on speaker, okay?” she said before a beep sounded, signaling that she had done it.

“What is it?” the man had entered the room, apparently.

“Dad?”

“Isaac?” The man got very close to the phone, very quickly. “Where are you?”

“Er. . .California.”

“California. . .in America?” the man exclaimed.

“No, George, he’s in Antarctica,” Newt’s mother said sarcastically before taking on a more serious tone. “Is Lizzie with you?”

Newt’s expression visibly darkened, “I was hoping she was with you. We. . .got separated. I thought she may have figured out a way to get home.”

“We’ll find her, Isaac,” Newt’s father said. “Tell us exactly where you are right now. If you’re there, Lizzie can’t be too far away. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Wait, what?”

“Stay put,” Newt’s father repeated. “We’re coming to you.”

“How do plan on doing that?” Newt seemed doubtful and hopeful at the same time.

“Don’t worry about that, okay?” Newt’s mother said. “Just tell us where you are.”

So Newt told them they were in Beacon Hills and it turned out there was a flight from London to Los Angeles in the morning, which they bought tickets for. They would be in Beacon Hills by tomorrow night.

They had to say goodbye so that they could get everything together, but they promised to call again.

Newt hung up the phone and the room was silent for a minute before Minho spoke up.

“Well, while you three,” he gestured to Scott, Liam, and Malia. “Were eavesdropping, I got Sonya’s phone number.”

“Wha-how?” Stiles asked, bewildered.

“I got ahold of Frypan, who texted Gally, who was with Aris, who has Sonya’s number.”

“Do any of your friends have normal names?” Malia asked and Scott nudged her.

“None that are still alive, I don’t think,” Minho responded.

“No, Harriet’s a pretty normal name, don’t you think,” Teresa said.

“It’s debatable,” Minho shrugged before looking at the sheriff. “And, anyways, you’re the one who named your kid _Stiles_.”

“Er, tha-that’s a nickname,” Stiles said.

“For what?” Teresa asked, curious.

“Hey! Minho has Sonya’s number, let’s focus on that!” Scott could see more and more of the old Stiles every minute.

So Minho gave Newt the number and he dialed.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The strong bond of friendship is not always a balanced equation; friendship is not always about giving and taking in equal shares. Instead, friendship is grounded in a feeling that you know exactly who will be there for you when you need something, no matter what or when."
> 
> -Simon Sinek

"We should actually give him privacy, this time," Scott said as he went into the kitchen and the others followed him. It was bad enough that they had listened to him talking to his parents. The least they could do was let Newt talk to his sister alone.

"What about you?" Malia asked Minho as they sat down. "Where you from?"

"Detroit," he said simply. "My folks died when I was five and I've lived with my dumb aunt and her dumb boyfriend ever since. Not in too much of a hurry to get back."

"What about your friends?" Scott asked. Surely someone was worried about him being gone this long. 

Minho shrugged, "Wasn't too many kids in a hurry to make friends with the suck-up Asian kid who also happened to be bi. There was one group that tolerated me, but I wouldn't necessarily call them my friends. And, anyways, that was almost three years ago. I doubt anyone still remembers me."

"Well, good. I don't think I'm gonna make it here without one of you guys," Stiles glanced at the rest of them before quickly adding onto that. "No offence, but it's just that we've been through a lot together. I don't know how I would do if I had to deal with Beacon Hills crazy after all the other crazy stuff."

"No, I get it," Scott said, forcing a smile.

"Oh, hey," Stiles said suddenly, as if he were suddenly remembering something. "What ever happened to Peter? After the Anukite?"

"He's in Mexico with Cora," Malia said. "There was some trouble with the Calaveras that he wanted to sort out."

"So, we're trusting him, now?"

"We're trusting Theo, too," Lydia pointed out.

"That's fair," Stiles glanced at Teresa, who was twiddling her thumbs and looking at the counter like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "You okay, Teresa?"

She shrugged, "I'm just thinking. WICKED didn't erase my memories, like you guys. They gave me new ones. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what's real."

"Just a wild guess," Minho said with a smirk. "But I'm gonna say the ones without psychotic cranks eating people's limbs are the real ones."

"Well, obviously," Teresa said in an annoyed tone, but her eyes sparkled with a laugh she was trying to hold back. "I mean the ones of before the Solar Flares. I think some of them are real, but I'm not sure when they stop being my actual childhood and turn into whatever WICKED thought was good for training."

"That actually reminds me of something I wanted to ask," Scott said. When all the Gladers were looking at him, he said, "How did you learn about the supernatural after WICKED?"

"The point of WiCKED was always to train us to become hunters," Minho said. "Back in the maze, there was always two things everyone remembered. A fake name WICKED gave them, and a time they were almost killed by a supernatural."

"That's the only memory I know for sure is real," Teresa said, her jaw set. "I remember my mother who didn't know how to control herself. One day, she just couldn't take it anymore. It killed my father and it almost killed me."

"She was a banshee," Lydia realized. 

Teresa nodded, blinking away tears.

"I remembered freshman year," Minho said after a few seconds of silence. "There had been a bunch of people killed by a wild animal, according to the police. There wasn't supposed to be anyone out after dark, and no one was supposed to go out alone."

"So, what happened?" Malia asked.

"I don't like rules. Never have, never will. I was tired of sitting inside all day, so I was just going to take a walk around the block. It would have taken less than ten minutes. My neighborhood was right on the edge of the woods. Turns out the "wild animal" was actually a werecoyote out of control. One of my neighbors was a cop. Shot the thing a few times and it ran off. Last thing I remember before I blacked out for three days was the sound of more of them. A whole pack lurking in the woods."

Everyone was quiet for a minute before Liam turned to Stiles, "What did they let you remember? It's not like you're short on supernaturals trying to kill you."

Stiles sighed before glancing at Scott, "I remembered the Nogitsune. I didn't remember any of you, but I remembered almost killing everyone I cared about. I remembered I almost killed myself to make it stop. They didn't let me remember how we defeated it."

"But you remember now," Lydia said. She got up and walked over to Stiles. "You remember how we beat the nogitsune. You remember how we got rid of the Wild Hunt. And you remember how we stopped Monroe."

"I mean, Monroe's still out there, right?" Stiles asked, his eyes meeting Lydia's. He leaned forward slowly and kissed her gently. 

"I missed you, Stiles," Lydia whispered. 

Before Stiles could say anything back, Scott's phone started ringing and kinda killed the moment. With everyone staring at him, he grimaced, said a quick sorry, and ducked out into the hallway to answer the call. He glanced at the Caller ID before pressing the green button.

"Theo?"

"Scott! Monroe's back!" Theo whispered into the phone. "Corey and I were getting Argent's laptop from the bunker and they just showed up out of nowhere."

"Okay, are you hurt?" Scott asked.

"I'm fine, but Corey got hit and he won't stop whining about it," the last part was a little muffled, so Scott assumed he had turned to whisper-yell it in Corey's face.

"Oh, shut up, Theo," he heard Corey say with a pained groan.

Theo's voice softened there was some shuffling on the other end, "Put pressure on it. There was poison on the arrow so just hold on until we get out of here. Scott, they're blocking all the exits, and there's traps around every corner. There's no way we're getting out of here with Corey like this. He's keeping us invisible for now, but he's paler than usual, and I'm pretty sure he's about to pass out."

"I'm fine," Corey said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up, you look awful."

Despite how badly this could end, Scott couldn't help but smile as he remembered a time when Theo would have left Corey to die and try to save his own skin, "Stay put, we're coming. Try to keep Corey awake,"

"You don't say," Theo said sarcastically.

Scott rolled his eyes as he hung up. He rushed back into the kitchen and barely had time to feel guilty for interrupting Newt, who was talking about his talk with Sonya, "Guys, we gotta go. Monroe's back in town and Theo and Corey are trapped in the tunnels."

"Who's Monroe?" Teresa asked as everyone jumped up.

"She was our guidance counselor who tried to kill us," Liam said.

"She's a hunter," Scott said. "But she doesn't have any kind of code, she just wants all supernaturals dead. And she doesn't care how it happens."

"Okay," Minho started as they all started to leave. "But aren't Theo and Corey the ones who aren't real supernaturals?"

"She doesn't care," Lydia told him. "To her, anyone who isn't human is nothing more than an animal who needs to be put down."

"Which is why we have to go find them. Theo said they're guarding the exits and Corey's hurt, so we gotta go now."

Scott, Malia, Lydia, and Liam jumped in Lydia's car. Scott was about to close the door, but Stiles held it open, "We're coming with you."

"Stiles, no," Scott said. "It's too dangerous and you guys just fought the alpha."

"Scott, claws and fangs aren't going to do much against guns and crossbows. We can help, you just have to let us."

Scott looked at Lydia for back up, but she just said, "He's kinda right."

With a sigh that turned into a growl, Scott reached under his shirt and took off the key to Stiles's Jeep, which he had put on a chain and kept with him ever since they found it on the ground three months ago. He held the key out to Stiles and said with a huff, "Your Jeep's in the garage."

"Why is my Jeep in your garage?" Stiles asked as he took the key.

"Just follow behind us before I change my mind and slash your tires."

"I will do that," Stiles said and a few minutes later, they were on the road. 

"So where are we going?" Liam asked.

"To the closest tunnel entrance," Scott said. "Theo said the arrow they shot Corey with was poisoned, so it shouldn't be too hard to find them."

"You better be right," Lydia said. "Because there's no way they're going to last long down there alone."

"Corey can turn invisible," Malia said, like it was obvious. "They'll be fine."

Scott shook his head and fought the urge to panic entirely, "Monroe's gotten smarter, and she's got way more people on her side now. We need to find them before Corey passes out. Theo's not going to be able to fight off all the hunters on his own."

After a few seconds of silence, Lydia sighed, "We just got Stiles back."

No one said anything.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." 
> 
> -Helen Keller

Once they arrived at the entrance to the tunnels, they all got out and grouped around the cover on the ground. Scott looked at everyone in turn.

"Okay, this place is going to be crawling with hunters and traps. But we're not going to hurt anyone we don't have to, and as soon as we find Theo and Corey, we're getting out of here. Everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded or muttered in agreement. 

"Okay. Let's do this."

There was a reason Scott had chosen this particular entrance. It was sort of hidden away, both above ground and below. To find it, you had to go down a hallway that looks like a dead end. He thought that maybe the hunters wouldn't know about it. He was wrong.

There were two of them. The eight of them could have easily taken them, but Scott was more concerned that the noise would attract too much attention. He was able to knock one out pretty quickly, but that was mostly because their backs were to the entrance and Scott had the element of surprise. 

The second one was a little more tricky. He tried to hit him on the back of the head, like the other, but he caught Scott's arm and threw him against the wall. Scott put his claws out as he caught his breath, but it turns out he didn't need to because Newt was the next one in and dodged the hunter's attack. He somehow ended up behind him and hit the hunter over the head with the handle of his machete.

Scott looked down at the hunter. He was out cold. He looked back at Newt, slightly bewildered.

"What? Too much?"

"Nope," Scott said as the others made their way in. "Just enough."

"Do you smell anything?" Lydia asked.

"Blood, fear, anger," Malia said. "Something I'm hoping is just chemicals."

"I mean, do you smell Theo or Corey?" 

Scott closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Malia was right about the blood, it was almost overwhelming. He wasn't sure if it was Corey's, though, so he tried to push past it and focused on other scents. And there it was: poison.

"I smell poison," he said, looking back. Liam and Malia took a breath again.

"I smell it, too," Liam said before pointing down the right tunnel. "I think it's coming from that direction.

"Let's go, then," Malia said, already starting in that direction. 

Then he saw it: a black wire, almost invisible, "Malia, no!"

But he was too late, she tripped the wire. He reached for her, but he was too far away. He heard something release and wiz through the air. A blur of color and Scott closed his eyes, afraid of what he would see. 

He opened them as Malia groaned and said, "Really? Couldn't you just pull me back? You had to full-on tackle me?" 

Malia and Teresa were on the ground and, embedded in the wall, was a dozen arrows. Teresa's cheeks flushed with color as she helped Malia stand up. 

"Sorry, I panicked," she said.

Malia pursed her lips, "Thanks, I guess."

Scott smiled in spite of himself before taking extra care stepping over the wire, even though it was now slack, "Come on. And watch your step." 

Somehow, they managed to maneuver the tunnels without running into any more hunters and avoiding all the traps. They followed the scent in a very specific formation. It was strange, they had fallen into position and all took up a specific task without having to talk it out. It was as if they had been doing this for years. Scott, Teresa, and Minho were in front, with Lydia, Newt, and Stiles behind them, and Malia and Liam bringing up the rear. 

Scott was tracking the scent while Teresa had her crossbow aimed and ready to shoot anything that moved. Minho, he would learn later, was memorizing the way they came, so they could find their way out again. Newt, Stiles, and Lydia were constantly turning and looking around and Stiles and Newt had their weapons ready. Malia and Liam were watching the back, always looking behind them and keeping an ear out for Theo and Corey at the same time.

The sour smell only got stronger and stronger until it was almost overwhelming and he was surprised even the ones without heightened senses couldn't smell it. Then he heard a voice, so quiet, it was barely over a whisper. 

"Come on, Corey, keep your eyes open. Just a little longer."

Scott hurried towards the noise which led him to a small, dark hallway that ended in a dead end and whispered, "Theo?"

"Oh, thank goodness," Theo said as he apparently let go of Corey and became visible at the end of the hallway. A few seconds later, Corey became visible as well and the eight of them hurried to the end of the hallway. Theo nodded towards the Gladers, "What are they doing here?"

"We made them bring us," Teresa said quickly.

"And I'm glad they did," Scott said. "You can complain all you want later, but, right now, we need to get out of here."

Scott helped Theo to his feet and knelt down next to Corey. It looked like Theo had taken his pain away, but that hadn't done a whole lot. He was sat up against the corner and his eyes were almost completely closed. He was pale as a ghost and his eyes were blood shot. His hands were clammy and there was the faintest trace of blood on the corner of his mouth. His shirt was soaked in blood, and a piece of fabric that looked suspiciously like the hem of Theo's shirt was tied tightly around his abdomen. 

"Corey?" Scott said softly. "Corey, we're getting out of here, but I need you to try to stay awake."

Corey didn't say anything but managed to nod his head a little. Scott frowned but started pulling him to his feet. Liam and Theo were supporting Corey and as they started to work their way back to the same place they used to get in. 

They were almost there when one of the hunters found them. This one was smarter. He radioed in that he had found them before attacking. Scott yelled at Malia, and Newt to help Liam and Theo get Corey out. He slid his claws out as the others got ready to fight.

The hunter pulled out a gun and shot a few times. They were barely able to dive out of the way. Teresa shot an arrow at his foot and he dropped the gun in pain. Minho dropped his spear and ran at the hunter. He jumped and kicked him in the stomach. The hunter hit his head on a pipe that was on the wall and fell to the ground, unconscious. 

They stared for a minute before Scott remembered that he had practically told Monroe where they were.

"Let's get out of here."

They ran towards the exit where Malia was disappearing onto the surface. Two hunters lay off to the side, knocked out, and no apparent injuries. Scott hurried Teresa up the ladder, then Minho, and finally Stiles. He hurried up behind them and replaced the cover. 

Scott glanced around and spotted a large slab of concrete that had broken off of something laying off to the side. He and Liam dragged it over to keep the cover in place to buy them enough time to get away.

"Okay," Scott said, turning to the others. "Let's go."

"Where?" Teresa asked. "The hospital?"

Scott shook his head, "No, the animal clinic."

"You're taking him to a vet?" Minho half yelled. "Are you insane?"

"We can't go to the hospital," Scott explained. "A couple of the nurses there are with Monroe. They'll take any chance they can get to prove themselves. Deaton is honestly the safest choice right now. We can sneak into the hospital later if we need to, but right now, we need to get him to Deaton."


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do not stand at my grave and cry  
> I am not there, I did not die"
> 
> -Mary Elizabeth Frye

They laid Corey on the table in the animal clinic and stood back as Deaton went to work. Scott leaned against the wall and took a deep breath with his eyes closed. It was hard to believe that just a few hours earlier Stiles didn't even know who they were. Everything had happened so quickly.

"I don't suppose you have the arrow he was shot with, do you?" Deaton's question drew him out of his thoughts.

Theo reached into his pocket and held out an arrow tip that had been broken off the shaft. It was covered in dried blood and some yellow substance. Deaton took it and wiped off some of the yellow stuff with a Q-tip.

"I'll do my best with what I have, but I can't guarantee that I can get all of the poison out," Deaton said. "Until then, you all should go home. This will likely take a while."

Before they could even turn towards the door, however, it opened and Mason walked in. Scott's breath hitched in his throat as he realized that no one had called Mason to tell him what was happening.

"There you guys are," he said. "I've been looking for you every-" But he cut himself off as he saw Corey, unconscious and covered in blood. He whispered Corey's name, almost to himself. He pushed past them all and rushed to his boyfriend's side. Mason tentatively cupped Corey's cheek in his hand and gently ran his thumb along his pale skin. Mason looked up with tears starting to form and locked eyes with Liam, "What happened?"

Liam bit his lip before answering, "It was Monroe. She shot him with a poisoned arrow and he and Theo were trapped in the tunnels for an hour." 

"Mason," Deaton said, turning away from his work for a moment. "I promise, I'm going to do everything I can to save him." 

"What do you mean?" Mason looked up at Deaton's choice of words. When no one said anything, Mason changed his wording. "He's not going to die, is he?"

"I don't know," Deaton admitted. "And until I figure out what kind of poison they used, there's not a lot that I can do."

Mason looked down at Corey and sat down on a stool next to the table. Mason took Corey's hand in his and gripped onto it as tears streamed down his face.

"Mason," Scott said gently. Mason didn't look up, but Scott kept talking anyway. "We're not going to let him die. I promise."

Liam pulled Scott and Theo off to the side, "Theo, what happened down there?"

"We were almost at the bunker. We went around a corner and there was hunter standing right outside the bunker. Corey was in front of me, so all I saw was him stumble back with an arrow sticking out of his stomach. I managed to knock the hunter out, but I could hear more coming. Corey made us invisible and we went towards the nearest exit, but I barely managed to avoid all the traps. We were about to turn the corner, but Corey stopped me. We could hear them standing in front of the exit. We found that hallway you found us in, I pulled the arrow out, and called you."

Scott saw Theo's eyes flicker over Scott's shoulder to where Corey was lying and Scott caught the briefest whiff of fear coming from Theo. The chimera may act tough, but Scott knew that he was getting close to the person Theo was before the Dread Doctors. Scott looked Liam and Theo in the eyes, "Come on, we're going to figure this out."

*****

Scott, Theo, Liam, and the Gladers went back to the McCall house to try to come up with a plan. They went into the kitchen and sat down around the table.

"We have to find a way to get Monroe and her followers out of Beacon Hills," Scott said.

"Yeah, and we can't kill any of them, because that'll just give her more followers," Liam added.

"And we can't talk to her, because that almost got us all killed last time," Theo said, his arms crossed. 

Scott slouched in his chair. This just felt so impossible. They had barely been able to make Monroe leave last time.

"Okay," Scott looked up as Newt started talking. "That means we only have two options: drive them out with fear, or convince them they could do more somewhere else."

The other Gladers nodded in agreement. Minho said, "If she has as many followers as you say, she's not going to be scared of a whole lot."

"So we have to draw her away," Teresa finished.

"How do we do that?" Newt looked at Scott.

Before anyone could say anything, there was a knock at the door. They glanced at each other and Scott stood up to open the door. There stood a girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen. She had long blonde hair that was in a side braid and it looked like she had been crying. 

"Um," Before Scott could even ask her name, she pushed past him into the house. "Hey!"

She ignored him and looked around wordlessly, eventually spotting the others sitting at the kitchen table. She locked eyes with Newt, who stood up and walked toward her slowly. Scott barely heard her whisper a name, "Isaac."

Newt heard it, though, and he rushed towards her, pulling her into a tight hug, "Lizzie."

That's when Scott realized it. This must be Sonya-or Lizzie, this was all very confusing-Newt's sister. As they embraced, tears started streaming down Newt's face, though his eyes were closed. 

"I'm sorry," Newt said as they pulled away. "I shouldn't have left you, I-I should have been there."

"No, Isaac," Lizzie said with a smile, her eyes sparkling as she cupped Newt's face in her hand. "You didn't know, and neither did I. Come on, big brother, you're supposed to be the one comforting me, remember?"

"Well, you always were braver than me," Newt smiled before pulling her close, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I love you so much, Lizzie."

At some point, Scott became aware of two other people entering the house. A dark-skinned girl and a lanky boy with brown hair. Stiles and the boy had embraced like old friends, which Scott assumed they were, and the Minho threw an arm around the girl's shoulders. They introduced themselves as Harriet and Aris and were apparently in the maze with Lizzie, who they knew as Sonya.  

Theo's annoyance with all the new people was radiating off him, but Scott shot him a look and Theo crossed his arms with a low growl. It turns out Aris and Lizzie were staying with Harriet and her parents in Nevada. They had driven over after Newt had called Lizzie. Aris's parents lived in Arkansas but they had seemingly changed their phone numbers, emails, and home address, so Aris had been working odd jobs until he had enough money to buy a plane ticket to fly there and hopefully find out what happened to them.

After about an hour, Theo mentioned that they still had to deal with Monroe and that they could catch up after they figure out how to not die. So they spent the rest of the night talking about various ways to draw the hunters out of Beacon Hills and, one by one, they all fell asleep.

*****

The next morning, he and Theo stopped by the animal clinic to check on Corey. The first thing they saw when they walked in was Mason asleep, stretched out on the waiting room benches. 

"I had to make him go to sleep," Deaton said, appearing from the back room. "Another hour and I would have knocked him out."

"How's he doing?" Theo asked, worried.

Deaton nodded towards the back and they followed him. Corey was in the same position they had left him the day before except his shirt had been changed and his wound was cleaned and dressed. Deaton went to one of the tables and flipped a few pages in a book, his back to them.

"I've identified the poison, but I'm worried it may have been tampered with," he said, still looking through the book.

"What do you mean?" Theo asked.

Deaton turned and set a small bottle of the yellow substance that had covered the arrow down on the table, "The poison is actually venom from a black mamba, the second deadliest snake in Africa. I don't even know how they got the venom. Luckily, I keep a few doses of antivenom in the back room."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Theo asked, urgently. "Give it to him."

"With the amount of venom in his system he should have died in under an hour," Deaton said. "But I can't find any traces of other substances in the venom. I'm trying to determine if I should give him the antivenom and hope for the best or keep looking for answers that might be nonexistent."

"How long does he have if we do nothing?" Theo asked. 

"Based on his symptoms and the way black mamba venom usually affects the body, I'd estimate about ten hours."

"Then do it!" Theo urged. "If it doesn't work, at least you'll have enough time to figure something else out."

Deaton sighed, "I doubt the hunters would do something to the venom to make it easier to cure him. I'm worried that whatever they did to it will either cause the antivenom to have no effect or, worse, make the venom more potent."

"He's already dying," Theo said softly. "We have to try something."

Deaton looked at Scott who saw the pleading look in Theo's eyes, "Do it."

"Okay," Deaton said, calmly. "I need to prep, would you mind waking Mason? I have a feeling that, if something happens, he'll skin us all alive if he was asleep for it."

Scott walked back into the waiting area and shook Mason awake who immediately jumped up, "What? What happened?"

"Nothing, Corey's fine," Scott assured him and Mason calmed down a little. "Deaton was about to give him something to help and we thought you'd want to be with him."

"Why?" Mason asked before he realized and his eyes narrowed. "You don't know if it's going to help him or hurt him, do you?"

"Right now, it's the only thing we have that could help him, and I promised you we weren't going to let him die, remember? If this doesn't work, then we'll figure something else out."

Mason nodded reluctantly and followed him to the back room. Deaton was filling a syringe with a clear liquid, which he handed off to Theo, "Hold that." 

Deaton took some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and rubbed it on the inside of Corey's elbow. He took the syringe back from Theo and carefully stuck the needle in, and slowly pushed in the plunger. Once all of the antivenom was in, Deaton pulled the needle out and wiped away the small drops of blood that appeared. Before, Corey's breaths had been shallow, but even. Almost instantly, his breaths became very rapid and labored. 

"What's happening?" Mason asked, fear radiating off of him.

Deaton grabbed a flashlight and pulled back Corey's eyelid, looking at his eye with the flashlight, "He's going into anaphylactic shock." Deaton rushed to the cabinet and grabbed a bottle and another syringe. 

Scott looked closer and noticed Corey's lips were speckled with blood, "There's blood in his mouth!"

"Turn him on his side," Deaton said, filling the syringe with the drug. "This will only take a second."

Scott and Theo rolled Corey over and blood dripped from his lips. Deaton came over and quickly injected the medicine into Corey's neck. His breathing became less and less rapid and they all visibly relaxed. His breaths became slower and slower, too slow, Scott realized and they all tensed up again. The breaths that passed his blood-stained lips grew slower and fainter before, eventually, stopping altogether.

"Corey," Mason said, tentatively, putting two fingers to his boyfriend's wrist. Mason's eyes widened, "No, no, no, no, no, Corey! Come on, don't do this to me." 

Theo backed up against the wall and slid down it, letting down the walls he had been using to mask his emotions. He took deep, shaky breaths, his eyes closed tight, and ran his hand through his hair. Mason was shaking Corey's body, now. Tears were streaming down his face, his chemosignals were giving off an aggressive mixture of sadness, fear, anger, and denial. Scott walked around the table and gently pulled Mason away from the table and into a hug. Mason struggled at first, but, finally, gave in and melted into the embrace, his body shaking as he sobbed. 

"I'm sorry," Scott whispered. He had promised Mason that he wouldn't let Corey die. He had promised, and he had failed. What if he had given him the bite? Could that have worked? Scott hadn't even thought about it until then. It didn't matter. Not anymore. He looked at Corey's body and couldn't help but remember that he had never properly apologized for forcing his way into Corey's mind. He made eye contact with Deaton, who was leaning against the table, his expression unreadable. 

Not sure what else he could say, Scott repeated the worst phrase to ever be invented, "I'm sorry."


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A leader is a dealer in hope."
> 
> -Napoleon Bonaparte

The Sheriff's car was sitting outside the McCall house when Scott and Theo pulled up. Theo jumped out of the car as soon as Scott put the gear into park. He hadn't talked at all during the entire ride home. As Scott walked in, he heard the sound of Theo running up the stairs and slamming the door to his room shut. 

"What's up with him?" His mom asked. She, the sheriff, Malia, Lydia, Liam, the Gladers, and their friends were in the living room, eating bacon and toast. She must have noticed the look on Scott's face because she put her plate aside and stood up. "What's wrong?"

Scott took a deep breath and walked over to where the others were, taking a seat on the arm of the couch where Stiles, Lydia, Newt, and Lizzie were sitting. "I failed."

"Scott, what are you talking about?" Stiles asked.

"I promised him," Scott muttered, his eyes closed. "I promised we would save him and I failed." 

"Corey," Lydia breathed and Scott nodded, opening his eyes, but looking at the floor, unable to look any of them in the eye.

Liam stood up, "Where's Mason?" 

"Deaton took him home," Scott said and Liam left. He heard Liam's car start up and drive away a few moments later.

"Why is Theo so upset?" Malia asked, almost growling. "He doesn't care about any of us."

Scott had been thinking about that on the drive, "He brought him back." 

"What?" Malia asked.

"When Corey died. . .the first time," Scott swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "Theo was the one that brought him back. It must have formed some kind of bond between them."

"Theo felt like he had to protect him," Lydia realized.

"He probably feels like he killed him. The poison was snake venom, but it should have killed him in less than an hour. Deaton wanted to wait to give him the antivenom until he could figure out what they did, but Theo said to go ahead and give it to him. They must have done something that caused the antivenom to make the venom stronger."

Malia growled, "I'm gonna kill her."

"No," Lydia said. "That was her plan. She wants us to come after her. It's probably part of a bigger trap."

There was a moment of silence that the Sheriff broke, "We can worry about Monroe after we figure out what to put down as the official report. Because I don't think it'll sit well if I say that a group of werewolf hunters poisoned an eighteen-year-old kid because he's part chameleon."

"We can take him to the hospital," Melissa said. "You guys say that you hadn't heard from him in a couple days and found him in the preserve. People get busted for hunting there all the time, so it'll probably get written up that he was shot by some amateur game hunters."

"What about his parents?" Newt asked. "Are you going to tell them the truth?"

Lydia shook her head, "They probably haven't even noticed he didn't go home last night. They barely cared when he died the first time."

"So what do we do now?" Melissa asked, not really directed at anyone. 

Scott took a deep breath and collected himself. He was still the Alpha, and people looked to him for guidance. He could grieve later. Right now, he had to be the leader, "Malia, you come with me to take Corey's body to the Preserve. Mom, don't you have to work in about an hour?" When his mother nodded, he continued. "Good, I'll call you and then and we'll let the hospital go through the procedures."

He turned to the Gladers and Lydia, "You guys try and think of some way to get the hunters out of Beacon Hills. They're obviously getting smarter, so we need to get them out as soon as possible. We still don't know entirely what we're up against. I'll call Deaton later and see if he can find anything from the venom that could point us in the right direction."

 Everyone nodded silently. Melissa excused herself upstairs to talk to Theo, the Gladers and Lydia grouped together at the kitchen table, and the Sheriff grabbed his jacket, saying he better get down to the station. He and Malia got up and headed for the door. 

"Hey, Scott?" He turned around at the sound of Stile's voice. "It's not your fault. You know that, right?"

His head knew that. His head knew that he had done everything he could and that giving Corey the antivenom was the best thing they could have done at the time. But his heart wasn't that smart. His heart could only remember everything he never said to Corey and everything he should have done differently. But he couldn't bring himself to say that, so he just nodded and muttered, "Yeah."

*****

They had taken Malia's car to the animal clinic. Before Scott could get out of the car, Mala locked the doors and turned towards him, "Tell me the truth, Scott. What's the real reason you're so upset right now?"

Scott sighed and took his hand off the door, "I can't stop thinking about everything I never said. Everything I never did."

"What are you talking about?" Malia asked.

"I never apologized for forcing my way into his mind when we were looking for Liam and Hayden. I never checked on him after Douglas tried to use him to merge our world and the Wild Hunt's. And I promised Mason he would make it."

Malia put her hand on his shoulder, "Scott, it's not your fault. You did everything you could."

"But it wasn't enough," Scott said. “There must have been something else I could have done.”

Malia looked at him curiously, “This isn’t just about Corey, is it?”

Scott was silent.

“You’re afraid your best won’t be enough again, aren’t you?”

Scott stared out the window, “The hunters are getting smarter, and I don’t know what they’re going to do next. How can I protect everyone if I don’t even know what we’re up against?”

“You don’t have to,” Malia said, putting her hand on his arm. “You don’t have to protect everyone, Scott. We’re a pack for a reason. We work together and support each other. You’re not supposed to do everything on your own.”

Scott looked at her. There was no trace of her usual hostility of bluntness.

Malia smiled, “Come on, let’s do this.”

They walked in the animal clinic and stopped in their tracks at the sight. Corey’s body was gone, and Deaton was lying on the floor, unconscious. A table of medical supplies had been overturned and the bottle containing the venom Deaton had collected from the arrow had been smashed. Scott rushed over to Deaton and shook him awake.

”What happened?” He asked, helping the vet sit up. 

“I’m not sure,” Deaton said. “I took Mason home and waited for Liam to show up. Then I came back here and. . .”

”What?” Scott pressed as Deaton trailed off. 

“I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything after walking in the door.”

Scott looked at Malia who seemed just as confused as he was. It could have been the hunters, but why would they take Corey’s body? And why would they go after Deaton? It just didn’t add up.

”You guys really need to invest in a security camera," Malia said.

"We need to tell the others."

*****

Scott and Malia rushed back to the McCall house. They burst through the door and hurried into the kitchen where Stiles, Minho, Teresa, Newt, Lizzie, and Lydia were gathered. 

"What's happened now?" Stiles groaned, noticing the urgent looks on their faces.

"Someone took Corey's body," Scott said.

"The hunters?" Lizzie asked.

"We don't know," Malia said. "And Deaton doesn't remember what happened."

"Wait," Lydia said in realization. She turned to Scott with her lips pursed. "This has happened before. Someone took his body the first time."

Scott's eyes widened in realization, "Parrish."


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Better to know the quick pain of truth than the ongoing pain of a long-held false hope.”
> 
> -Trudi Canavan

Malia excused herself into the other room as Peter started calling her. Scott turned to Lydia, “You go to the station and talk to Parrish. At least if he’s the one who took Corey’s body, we know what happened and where to find it.”

After Lydia left, he turned to the Gladers and opened his mouth to ask what they had found before realizing they were short a couple people, “Where’s Harriet and Aris?”

“Harriet’s parents wanted them to head back to Nevada,” Lizzie said. “They barely let us come here in the first place.”

Scott nodded and, once again, was about to ask what the Gladers had found out when Malia burst into the room, “It’s not Monroe.”

“What?” Scott asked.

“Peter was calling to tell me that all the trouble with the Calaveras was because they had been working with Monroe and she turned on them. She’s been in Mexico for the past four months.”

“So, if Monroe’s in Mexico,” Lizzie started.

“Who are we dealing with?” Scott finished.

*****

They had been brainstorming for an hour. Sixty minutes of trying to think of other people who would kill any random supernatural they happened to come across. Three hundred sixty seconds of getting nowhere. To make things worse, Lydia had come in and said that Parrish had been working the night shift and had been at the station when Corey’s body went missing. She had even gotten ahold of the security camera footage to proove it. They were back at square one.

At around noon, they had decided to take a quick lunch break. Newt, Lizzie, and Lydia worked on sandwiches for everyone, Minho and Malia were cutting up apples, Teresa and Stiles were pouring drinks for everyone, and Scott was rummaging around for chips.

Lydia handed him a glass of water and a plate with a turkey and ham sandwich, apple slices, and a handful of Doritos, “You want to take this up to Theo?”

“Sure,” Scott took the plate and the glass and headed up the stairs. The door to Theo’s room, which was technically Isaac’s old room, was closed, but it had never had a lock for whatever reason. Nevertheless, Scott didn’t feel like getting punched in the face, again, so he balanced the glass on the plate and knocked on the door.

He received no answer, so he knocked again, “Theo? I brought lunch. You need to eat something.”

Still, nothing. Scott sighed and opened the door, fully ready to be given the death glare, see Theo hiding under the covers, or both.

What he didn’t expect to see was an empty room. Theo’s jacket was lying on the floor, instead of draped over the back of his desk chair, the bed was mess, something Theo was always careful to fix, and all the lights were off, even though Theo always forgot to turn them off. Something was very wrong.

Scott set the plate down on top of the dresser and ran halfway down the stairs, “Theo’s gone!” He yelled before going back to the chimera’s room

He was soon joined by Malia and Lydia, while the Gladers hung back in the hallway. The girls took in the room.

“This isn’t right,” Lydia said, her eyes locking on Theo’s jacket, the bed, and the lamp. “He didn’t run away. Can you smell anything?”

Scott took a deep breath. There was not other scents beside’s Theo’s, so he focused more on Theo’s chemosignals. And there it was.

“Hope,” Scott said and Lydia looked at him in confusion. “He was hopeful about something.”

“But what?” Malia asked.

“I don’t know,” Scott said, pulling his phone out. “Maybe I can text him.”

_Theo Raken_

_**Where are you?** _

A buzzing sound came from underneath the mess of blankets on the bed. Malia, who was closest, shifted through the blankets and pulled out Theo’s phone, “He left it here.”

“Let me see it,” Lydia said. Malia handed her the phone and Lydia scrolled around for a minute. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she tapped the screen. A couple seconds later, her eyes widened and she looked up at Scott.

“What?”

She wordlessly handed him the phone and he looked at it.

_ Corey Bryant _

_Theo, help._

_**Who is this?** _

_It’s me, Theo. Corey._

_**Corey’s dead. I killed him.** _

_No you didn’t._

_Theo, I’m scared._

_I don’t know where I am, but I hear voices._

_They’re coming closer._

_**You’re supposed to be dead.** _

_Well, I’m not. I might be if you don’t help me._

_**What do you see around you?** _

_I think it’s somewhere in the Preserve. I’m handcuffed to a wooden bridge that goes over a creek._

_Theo?_

_Theo, they’re getting closer._

_**I know where that is.** _

_Please, Theo._

_**I’m coming.** _

“They took Corey’s phone?” Scott looked up after he finished reading.

Malia, who had been reading over his shoulder, growled and her eyes glowed blue, “They’re so dead.”

“We need to find him before he does something stupid,” Lydia said.

“How?” Scott asked. The whole room only had Theo’s scent, so they had nothing else to look for.

“Hey,” Stiles said, finally entering the room. “Look at this.”

Stiles walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. The window was open. The window that just so happened to be right next to a large tree.

“So we know how he left,” Scott said, glancing at the driveway. “His truck’s still here.”

“He was probably afraid we’d hear him leave,” Lydia said. “How long ago was that conversation?”

Scott looked at the phone again and it suddenly felt like there was a large rock in his stomach, “An hour ago.”

“Anything could’ve happened by now,” Malia said.

“Well,” Teresa entered the room, as well, and took the phone from Scott’s hand. “Whoever took Corey’s phone told Theo to go to a wooden bridge that goes over a creek in the Preserve. Do you guys know where that is?”

“Yeah,’ Scott said softly. “Of all the places they could tell him to go.”

“What happened there?” Teresa asked.

Scott hesitated. He knew Theo had changed. He knew Theo regretted killing his sister more than any of the other things he had done. He knew Theo still had nightmares about it.

“Nothing good,” Lydia said after Scott didn’t answer. “Nothing good ever happens there.”

“Let’s go, then,” Newt said.

*****

They all piled into cars to head towards the Preserve. Scott had texted Liam that they would probably need his help. He had also sent him screenshots of the texts between Theo and whoever had took Corey’s phone, but made him promise not to show Mason. Liam was going to meet them there as soon as he convinced Mason not to come with him.

 They arrived at the Preserve a few minutes before Liam and Mason. A mixture of sadness and anger was radiating off of Mason, while Liam was a little sad, but mostly concerned. The two walked over to the rest of them and Lydia pulled Mason into a quick hug before they all turned towards the woods.

There was no telling what they would see when they got to the bridge. Would the hunters have killed Theo, too? Would they have brought Corey’s body to the bridge? Were they hoping they would all come and kill them all as soon as they entered the woods?

“Well,” Stiles said. “Let’s do this.”

As they walked along, jumping at every little noise, Scott was suddenly glad it was still daytime. The last thing he wanted to do was fight some new enemy in the dark.

They were almost at the bridge when Scott caught a whiff of something. It was a person, but their scent was sort of off. It had a metallic hint to it, but that wasn’t the only thing wrong. There was something else off about the scent, but Scott couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The others had stopped as well, and Liam asked, “Do you smell it, too?”

“Yeah,” Scott answered, trying to figure out where the scent was coming from, It was a little stronger from one direction, so that’s where he led the group.

They came to the creek when the trail ended. Scott looked downstream and there was the bridge, about 20 yards away. They looked around, but there was no one there.

“Maybe they crossed to the other side?” Malia suggested.

“Nope,” said a voice from behind them. They all turned around and there stood a thin man with grey hair and a mole on his face. If Scott was being completely honest with himself, he kind of reminded him of a rat.

“Thomas,” the man said, turning his attention to Stiles. “It’s good to see you again, all of you.”

“Janson,” Stiles said, his voice dripping with hate. “What are you doing here?”

And then the man did something that made Scott very uncomfortable. Something that made him feel like things were about to get very bad. The man laughed, “Oh, Thomas. You didn’t actually think a group of children actually took down a multimillion organization made up of scientists, engineers, and doctors, did you? No, you four were our most promising students, that’s why you were pulled out of the simulation. That’s why we let you think you defeated us. Because this is your final test.”

The man, Janson, stepped aside and there stood Theo, hands clasped behind his back, and his head bowed.

“Theo?” Scott called. “Are you okay?”

Theo looked up and opened his mouth, “Scott! I-” then he started choking. Theo fell to his knees, coughing, and clutching at his throat. Scott stepped forward to help him, but before he could take a second step, Theo stood up again and stared straight ahead, blankly.

Scott looked at Janson who looked very pleased with himself, “What did you do to him?”

“He’s controlling him,” Stiles said. “Theo’s still in there, but WICKED’s controlling his body.”

“That’s right, Thomas,” Janson said, walking behind Theo. “This is your test. Kill him, or he kills you.”

“Okay,” Minho said. “We don’t have to kill him. We can just knock him out. Surely the ten of us can take him.”

“Oh,” Janson said with a twisted smile. “You didn’t think you’d only be fighting one little chimera, did you?”

It was then that Scott noticed the other figures walking towards them.

“Harriet! Aris!” Lizzie exclaimed as her friends emerged from the shadows, their faces emotionless. The two stood to Theo’s left, forming a line.

There were only three of them, though. Scott figured they could probably knock them all out without hurting them too bad.

But then two more people joined the line-up.

“Alec?” Mason said at the same time Liam said Nolan’s name. The two stood on Theo’s right.

Okay, there were five of them now. A few of them might end up with some scrapes or bruises.

But then another boy came out and stood next to Aris. Newt called him Gally, and Scott assumed he was another one of the teenagers WICKED had kidnapped. One more person came out.

“Derek!” Malia sounded as shocked as Scott felt.

They looked around at each other. There was no way they could fight all seven of them without someone getting hurt.

“Now,” Janson said. “I’ve already said this but I know you four have a habit of thinking the rules don’t apply to you. If you don’t kill them, they will kill you. If you hurt them, they’ll feel it, but we’ll make them keep fighting.”

“Why are you doing this?” Mason spoke for the first time with tears in his eyes. “What do you want?”

“The same thing I and all of my colleges have always wanted. A world free of supernaturals.”

“So that’s why you killed Corey?” Mason was shaking, but it wasn’t from fear. He was angry. “You were afraid of him? You thought it would be good for training?”

“I didn’t kill your little chameleon friend,” Janson said calmly. “Why would I do that? It’s so much more fun to let you do that.”

“What?” Mason sounded confused.

Janson slipped away into the shadows as one last person joined the other seven.

“Corey!” Mason tried to go to him, but Liam held him back.

“Mason, that’s not Corey. Not really.”

“Are you ready?” Theo asked, but it wasn’t his voice. It was more monotone, more cold.

“Guys, stop,” Scott said. “We’re not going to fight you.”

There was no way they could kill them. The ten of them could probably take them okay, but these were their friends. Their best friends in the world.

“You don’t have a choice, Scott,” Derek said in the same strange tone. “Kill us, or we kill you.”

Scott looked to Stiles. He knew about WICKED, he knew how they worked. Surely there was another way. But Stiles just looked away from him and stared at their friends.

They were going to have to do this, Scott realized. He couldn’t kill them, but he couldn’t let them kill him. He looked at the eight people lined up in front of them and took a deep breath and got ready to do this.

“Okay,” he said, but it was almost a whisper. “Let’s go, then.


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." 
> 
> – Lao Tzu.

It all happened at once. As soon as Scott spoke, the eight who were being controlled by WICKED sprung into action, and Scott suddenly found himself fighting Derek with Teresa.

Derek swung at him with his claws, which Scott barely dodged in time. Teresa shot and arrow into Derek’s shoulder and he roared, but pulled the arrow out and kept going. Derek swung at him again, but Scott was ready this time. He grabbed Derek’s arm as he swung and pushed him up against a tree.

Scott growled as Derek struggled against him. This was it. He was about to kill one of his best friends. He started to raise his hand, but Teresa yelled, “Wait!”

Scott looked at her, but she was staring at Derek. She walked closer and squinted at the back of his neck. She pulled his jacket down a little lower and Scott could finally see it. There was a cut there. It was almost healed, but there was no mistaking the preciseness of it. It was a surgical cut.

“That’s not right,” Teresa said, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “The surgery that lets them control people is done through the ear. It shouldn’t leave a mark there.”

Scott could practically see the gears spinning in her mind. Her lips were pursed tightly and her tongue clicked lightly against the roof of her mouth. Then her eyes lit up and she gasped a little. She looked at him and Scott could tell that she had figured something out.

“The operation usually takes several hours and recovery time is 24 hours or longer. They must not have had the time to do it, so they used chips. That’ll make their control over them weaker than usual.”

“What does that mean for them?” Scott let himself be a little hopeful.

“Maybe they can break through it.”

Scott had let his guard down when she had said that. Derek broke free from his hold and tackled Scott to the ground.

“Derek!” Scott yelled as he struggled to keep Derek away from his throat. “Derek, you can fight it!”

The older werewolf bared his teeth and growled menacingly in his face, but Scott could see that in his eyes he was terrified. Terrified that he would kill him.

“It won’t be easy,” he heard Teresa yelled. “His will to regain control has to outweigh WICKED’s hold on him. He has to focus on why he doesn’t want to do these thing. The things that make him human.”

“Derek,” Scott softened his voice and Derek’s hold on him loosened ever so slightly. “This isn’t you. You’re not a monster. You’re a werewolf. Like me.”

For one horrible moment, Scott was afraid it wouldn’t work. That Teresa was wrong, or WICKED was stronger than they thought. But then Derek fell back on the ground, panting.

Scott smiled as he sat up, “You did it.”

Derek opened his mouth to say something, but then they heard someone yell and it drew them back into the fight going on around them. They stood up and surveyed the scene.

Stiles was keeping Aris at bay. He was using a large knife, but Stiles was able to dodge him each time. Lydia was fighting Nolan, being sure to only block his attacks and to never hurt him. Malia and Alec were going at it, practically wrestling each other on the ground, but neither of them seemed badly hurt. Minho and Harriet were both fighting with spears, and seemed evenly matched. Minho, however, was fighting defensively while Harriet was fighting to kill. Newt was against the boy they had called Gally. Gally had a knife while Newt was hanging onto his machete. Newt dodged Gally’s attacks and seemed to be trying to hit him with the handle of his weapon. Lizzie was fighting Theo. Theo was definitely stronger, but Lizzie was way faster than him and was able to dodge all of his attempts to land a hit on her. Despite the fact that theo had claws and fangs, Lizzie seemed to be dealing with him pretty well.

Finally, Scott turned his attention to Liam and Corey. Corey didn’t have claws or fangs to begin with, but he was still decent at fighting. Liam had his claws out, but Corey only had one or two small scratches on him. Every so often, Liam would glance over at Mason, who was standing off to the side sending him pleading looks. Scott knew Liam would kill Corey if he had to.

“Guys!” Teresa yelled, and a few people glanced over at them. “They can fight it! You have to help them focus on why they don’t want to hurt you.”

“Make a personal connection with them. It helps them feel more in control,” Derek yelled, but glanced at Scott when he said the next part a little more softly. “It helps them feel more human.”

“Aris!” he heard Stiles yell as he dodged another incoming attack from the other boy. “I know you don’t want to do this. You have to fight it!”

Aris hesitated for a second, but ran after Stiles again.

“Rachel wouldn’t want you to do this, would she?” Stiles said, his voice more empathetic. “She would want you to fight it. Because I know you can.”

Scott didn’t know who Rachel was, or why she was referred to in the past tense, but it worked. Aris freezed, and dropped the knife. Scott saw him take a deep breath and Stiles pulled him into a hug.

Lydia had gotten Nolan to snap out of it and Malia and Alec were sitting beside each other, breathing heavily, but smiling wide. Harriet was helping Minho to his feet, their weapons laying forgotten on the ground.

There were only three pairs still fighting. Newt was trying to talk Gally out of it, and Liam was holding Corey off while Mason talked to him from the side. Lizzie, however, hadn’t even known Theo for a full day and was having trouble figuring out what to say.

Theo swung at her and she dodged it, but she was thrown slightly off balance and and Theo used that to his advantage. Or, WICKED did. He swept his leg underneath her and she fell backwards, knocking the wind out of her.

“Lizzie!” Newt yelled and tried to get past Gally, but the other boy took advantage of Newt being distracted and finally managed to land a hit on him. He saw Minho going over to help Newt and Scott stepped forward to help Lizzie with Theo, but stopped when he saw Stiles already walking over.

“Theo,” Stiles said, as Theo was looking down at Lizzie. “Theo, you don’t want to do this.”

Newt and Minho were talking Gally down, but Newt kept trying to run past him and Gally would start fighting them again. Theo seemed hesitant, but Scott knew that was just the real Theo fighting WICKED’s control over him.

“You gonna kill her, Theo? Like you killed Tara?” Stiles asked.

That wasn’t working. Scott could tell Theo was trying to fight it, but talking about Tara wasn’t helping. Stiles could tell that, too. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Theo,” he said. “I forgive you.”

Theo stopped entirely. Just like Scott, he could hear the steady beat of Stiles’s heart. He knew Stiles was telling the truth. Theo took a step back and finally looked away from Lizzie. Aris and Harriet helped her up as Theo backed up against a tree and took a deep breath. Newt and Minho finally got through to Gally and the two siblings embraced as Minho and Gally gave each other curt nods.

“Theo,” Scott started.

“Uh, guys!” Liam yelled and they all looked over at him. Scott had forgotten about him and Corey. “I could use some help over here!”

Liam could take Corey just fine. Scott knew that from all the times they had spared together. However, now Corey was trying to kill Liam, and Liam was trying not to hurt him at all.

Corey pushed Liam backwards and he stumbled a little. Before he could get his footing back and keep fighting, Mason stepped between them.

“Mason, don’t!” Liam yelled.

“You’re not going to hurt me, Corey,” Mason said as Corey seemed to hesitate. But it wasn’t enough, as Corey grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him up against a tree.

“Corey,” Mason said calmly. “I know you don’t want to do this.”

Corey didn’t do anything else, but he didn’t let Mason go.

“Remember what we were talking about the other day?” Mason asked. “When you told me you thought it was fitting that you turn invisible because you were basically invisible anyway? Remember what I told you?”

“I-I” Corey stuttered as he tried to break free.

“You’re not invisible to me, Corey,” Mason said. “Not even when you shift. I’ll always be able to see you because I’ll always love you.”

There was a pause, and then Corey jerked back away from Mason, who stood upright.

“I could have killed you,” Corey whispered, looking at the ground.

“No you couldn’t,” Mason said. He walked up to Corey made him look him in the eye. “I thought I lost you.”

Corey smiled slightly, “Never.”

“Very good, Thomas,” Janson emerged from the shadows again. “I told Ava you could do it.”

“We beat your game, Janson,” Stiles said. “What do you want from us now?”

“Nothing,” the man said with a smile. But it wasn’t malicious this time. It was warm, comforting. “You all did exactly what we hoped you would. You found a way out of a seemingly impossible situation. You could have killed them just fine, but you found a way around it.”

“What are you saying?” Stiles asked.

“My work here is done,” Janson said, “The purpose of WICKED was always to train you to be Hunters. Your final lesson was to make sure you remember that beneath the claws and fangs there’s still a human being.”

And, with that, Janson slipped back into the shadows and they were left staring at empty space.

“Is anyone else confused by what just happened?” Liam asked.

Malia, Alec, and Harriet all raised their hands jokingly. With the tension broken, they all laughed.

“Let’s get out of here,” Scott said.

 

 


	13. Author's Note

This book was intended to have twelve chapters, but I couldn't get it to sound right and it actually ends pretty well with just eleven. I was thinking of starting a book called "The Werewolves" from Thomas's/Stiles's point of view so you all could know what happened to him and the Gladers. Is that something anyone would be interested in? And would anyone like a sequel, because I can give it another shot. 

That's all.

 

Edit: January 17, 2019

I'm currently working on a prologue because it's annoying me that the actual story is eleven chapters. One more than ten and one less than a dozen. Anyway, the prologue is from Thomas's/Stiles's point of view and it's looking pretty okay so far. I'm also planning on editing the rest of the story because I've gone back and read it a few times and it feels a little rushed/lazy. We'll see what happens. Hope you like what I come up with.


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